Former Irish Olympic coach to open boxing centre of excellence in Castlebar

Mayo Advertiser, Fri, Dec 15, 2017

Head coach of the USA amateur boxing association, and former Irish coach, Billy Walsh, will be in Castlebar after Christmas to open the new Connaught Boxing Centre of Excellence.

The centre, which is based at the Lough Lannagh Holiday Village, also serves as the home of Castlebar Boxing Club and will be officially opened on Thursday, December 28.

Former taoiseach Enda Kenny, Minister Michael Ring, and members of Mayo County Council will also be in attendance for the historic opening.

President of Castlebar Boxing Club, Sean Horkan, said: “We first proposed the idea for a Connaught Boxing Centre of Excellence back in 2013 after we trained here with Australia, Poland, and Scotland prior to the Worlds in Kazakhstan. It will boost Connaught boxing and become a feeder for the national high performance team which will help give it sustainability and develop a continuous supply of Connaught talent to the national team for many years.”